1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a preloader which is applied to a webbing retractor for tightly restraining a vehicle occupant with a webbing when a vehicle suddenly decelerates.
2. Description of Related Art
Any conventional seal belt apparatus is designed to firmly restrain the vehicle occupant with a webbing when the vehicle suddenly decelerates. However, if there is any gap between the webbing and the occupant, a restraining effect cannot fully be exerted. To compensate for this, there is a webbing retractor integrally provided with a preloader which tightly restrains the vehicle occupant by forcibly retracting the webbing in the retracting direction when the vehicle suddenly decelerates. This preloader incorporates a preloader sensor which is activated simultaneously with the sudden deceleration of the vehicle s that the preloader can instantaneously be operated.
When installing a webbing retractor to a vehicle, the automobile manufacturer needs to properly adjust the securing position, in particular, the inclined angle of the webbing retractor along the axial line of the fixing bolt, secured in the widthwise direction of the vehicle body, according to the type of vehicle and whether the steering wheel is positioned on the left side or on the right side. If a different inclined angle of the webbing retractor is introduced, it in turn obliges the manufacturer to also modify the inclined angle of the preloader before the preloader is integrated with the webbing retractor.
Whenever modification is planned, the manufacturer of the webbing retractor is obliged to renew design work and rearrange the manufacturing of all the component parts of the preloader so that these components can be compatible with the modified inclined angle. This in turn obliges those who are engaged in the design and manufacturing work to incur an excessive volume of work, thus resulting in an increase in cost.